500 and growing

This week saw a real milestone for Citymothers as we reached 500 members. Hard to believe the network only started in November - the support and progress since then has been overwhelming. As many of you know, I started Citymothers following my own experience of becoming a mother whilst progressing a career in finance. The purpose of the network from the start has been to provide peer support to those balancing careers and families; to help members maintain career trajectory during and after the maternity transition; and to provide a schedule of informative networking events at family-friendly times in the City and Canary Wharf, covering topics relevant to working mothers. In doing so we aim to contribute to the development of the female talent pipeline and progression towards the boardroom.

Since launch we (my Citymothers colleagues Laura Harrington, Germaine Chia and I) have built a fantastic events programme through our Lunchtime Speaker Series, with high profile guest speakers including Alison Davis, RBS Group board member; Ruby McGregor-Smith CBE, CEO of Mitie Group; Karen Mattison MBE, founder of Timewise; Dr Samantha Collins, CEO of the Aspire Foundation, and Cherie Blair CBE. We are very grateful to our event hosts, past and pending, including SJ Berwin, State Street, Clifford Chance, Macfarlanes, Freshfields and Morgan Stanley.

We have also connected with the maternity and coaching consultancy Talking Talent to run a bespoke Coaching-led Series for Citymothers. This Series, consisting of four group sessions, provides a more interactive and intimate discussion forum for topics relevant to the maternity transition and career progression. All events are open to Citymothers members and are free of charge.

We thank you for your support of Citymothers to date and look forward to continuing growth and development.